The awards ceremony took place on June 3rd Dante competition Prof. Lia Leonardi Castellari, promoted by the Castellari family. At the ceremony, which was attended by notary Paolo Castellarirepresenting the Castellari family, the head teacher of the Torricelli-Ballardini high school Paola Falconi, the members of the judging commission prof. if Silvia Berdondini and Iside Cimatti (absent the third member, Prof. Luigi Neri, former head teacher of the high school) and the classes of students and winning studentsthe mayor of Faenza also participated Massimo Isola who, in his speech, underlined the ability of Dante and his work to unite generations, despite changing customs and habits, as well as historical, political and social contexts. The competition, come to its end eleventh editionengaged the participating students in the development of relevant tracks Dante and the freedom in its many connotations, Dante and the contemporary technological panorama, Dante and his ability to listen to his interlocutors and read the human soul.
Culture and school as an antidote to provincialism
The following students were winners of the 2024 edition: the first prize went to Alice Lombardi (4^B Human Sciences), second place for Simona Farneti (4th A Linguistics), third place for Greta Oretti (5th A Human Sciences), fourth Luca Rossini (3rd A Classic) and fifth Giorgia Da Rù (4^C Scientific). “There culture and the school they are an important antidote against provincialismwhich can lead to closed-minded attitudes and localism, nationalism and chauvinism, which European history teaches us produce harmful consequences – recalled the notary Castellari in his speech -. It is in fact through the study of literature, poetry, philosophy, art, and scientific subjects that the indispensable is developed critical spirit, which finds its basis in the comparison between the various theses of the authors studied. And the school it is the ideal and essential container for this comparison, both because it has the function of allowing full freedom to compare the various ideas, and because it allows the dialogue between teachers and students”. «Eighty years ago – continued Castellari – in the darkest hour of the twilight of a totalitarian regime like the fascismresponsible for immense mourning and destruction in Italy and around the world, Catholic scholars created, stimulated by Pope Pius XII, the Camaldoli codex. In an Italy characterized by poverty and mass illiteracy, these visionary women and men conceived a educational system for everyone and that would train the critical spirit, respecting merit”. “L’inclusion – he underlines – it is, therefore, an objective of decisive importance. Many steps have been taken in recent decades for young carriers disability, thanks also to the extraordinary work of the support teachers. But on this front we cannot stop or go back. It should also be carefully considered that our classes are attended by approximately 800 thousand students, migrants or children of migrants foreigners. One tenth of those enrolled in our institutes. It is a educational commitment imposing. An important part of Italy’s future may depend on their positive inclusion.”
